Strange things don't only happen when you are asleep. They happen in daylight, in crowded cities, even in the countryside. Things that seem innocent one minute are demonized the next, and here are seventeen stories to prove it.

A journalist spends a nerve-wracking weekend in the company of Hitler and his Nazi supremos. A tropical holiday takes a nasty turn thanks to a troupe of monkeys; and a waitress challenges a sinister customer in an all-night diner. A tailor plots to escape his execution; London is overrun with rats; serial killers fall in love; and revenge backfires on the unfaithful. As our lives and deaths grow ever stranger, housewives, students and executives all find themselves in situations that become increasingly disturbing. Fowler's powerful narratives are subtly affecting and make you think twice about the way you look at the world around you.